What the clubs said this week

Old Xaverians website following their 50-point win over Old Scotch

Old Xaverians proved too strong for Old Scotch in the Old Firm clash at Toorak Park on Saturday. On firm footing and under cloudy skies, the Red ‘n’ Blacks bounced away early, applying fierce pressure at each contest and converting opportunities that transpired from such endeavour.

The fifty-point margin perhaps flattered the Red Men, who could not contain the twin towers Matthew Handley and Jeremy Hannan. It was the debut game for the latter, and he showed as much promise as any marking forward since the former burst on to the scene in Round 3 of 2006.

Elsewhere, the Cardinals could not compete with John Shaw, who won nearly every tap and gave his midfield an armchair ride. Club captain Michael Darvell made a welcome return, adding some grunt and polish to the on-ball brigade. (Read More)

University Blacks website following their 33-point win over De La Salle

There was plenty to play for on Saturday at the Dairy Bell, with both the Blacks and De La Salle looking to keep in touch with the top half of the ladder before the upcoming bye. It was the Blacks who came out on top, securing their third win on the trot with a 33-point triumph. It was a gutsy win away from home, and one that will fill the Blacks with confidence before their next game against Old Carey this week before the Queen’s Birthday break.

There wasn’t much separating the two sides early in the piece, with only a single point splitting both teams at the first change. There were many entertaining passages of play from both sides and the differing game styles of the two combatants ensured that the crowd was enthralled from the first bounce – both supporter bases acutely aware of how important the four points on offer were. (Read More)

Collegians website following their 4-point win over Beaumaris

We’ve had three massive weeks in a row, and normally you would think a side sitting 9^th on the ladder would give you a week off so to speak.  But this year’s comp is as even as you can get, Beaumaris has been very competitive and could have easily won a couple more games. To top it off they had a couple of premiership reunions happening so support was going to be huge.

The resies set the scene for us with a great display, so we hit the ground in good spirits. Last year we blew them away early and just managed to hang on; this year was pretty much a carbon copy. Five goals up at quarter time and seemingly playing well. Not be denied Beaumaris held us goalless in the second and started the process of clawing their way back into it. If the game had gone another 5 minutes it could have been a different story.(Read More)

Parkdale website following their 1-point loss to Mazenod

After the strong win last week Parky went to Mazenod with confidence that this was the turning point for the season. After we had elevated ourselves to 6th position on the ladder we were expecting to consolidate our position with a win and go to 3 wins and 4 losses. With three changes to the team, Mick Meyer sticking his finger where he shouldn’t have, Sean Hendricks with a twinge and Paul Sullivan with a lot of twinges, we welcomed back Kurt Lopo, Guy Crilley and Nathan Papatsanis.

The game was held on the Mazenod College ground due to Mazenod’s foundation day not their regular ground (Central Reserve) that we are familiar with. The ground was in good nick but a touch small and narrow which should have allowed for more shots at goal and did for Parky but not with the accuracy we would have liked. (Read More)

Old Ivanhoe website following their 35-point win over Therry Penola

Having accounted for the then top of the ladder Peninsula OB at Mt Eliza last week, the seniors were again on the road playing away to Therry Penola OC at their Glenroy stronghold; Therry had not been beaten at home for over 2 years.

The boys sprinted out from the starting blocks & had posted 4 early goals within the first ten minutes.  The relative ease with which this occurred perhaps lulled the team into a false sense of security, and Therry to their credit fought back to reply quickly with three unanswered goals.  A late goal steadied things and at quarter time OIGFC led 5.4.34 to 3.3.21.

There was some concern at the break, with Chris Johnson, who had kicked the first major after marking strongly suffering an injury re-occurrence; Chris and his fellow coaches would have to juggle the rotations after this early setback. (Read More)

St Mary’s Salesian website following their 48-point win over Old Mentonians

In excellent conditions, SMS attacked the Turner Road end and looked sharper early. It was stop-start footy with open space hard to find but the Saints backline and midfield forced the ball forward where Sid Jones and Gary ‘Bucky’ Puruntatameri slotted goals. After 20 minutes, Old Mentonians had a good period where they moved the ball well and kicked two majors. However, a late goal by Ben Andrews gave the Saints a 5 point advantage at quarter-time.

SMS lifted their intensity in the second term and took control of the game. Tim Dudgeon, Heath Chipperfield and Jackson Strangward were good players, Jones was in everything and added two goals, while Luke Dykes kicked another. The Saints midfield and defence limited scoring opportunities for the Panthers who were only able to reply with 1-4. At half-time, on balance of play, the Saints should have been further ahead than 3 goals.

In the third stanza, Louie Holmes provided an early major for the visitors, before Old Mentonians had a good 20 minutes where they were able to gain some midfield drive and create opportunities for the forwards. The home team had a number of shots at the big-sticks and scored a couple of six-pointers but were also very inaccurate.